Rumpleforeskin
Lurker
After I download the update & go to install it, it tells me my phone isn't 'rooted' and I need to install some kind of "S U" thing to root it. But the last time I did that, my other M9 locked up upon rebooting.
-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
System update trouble
- Thread starter Rumpleforeskin
- Start date
Sorry, what are you trying to do here? The thread title says "system update", which usually means official software update. But that's nothing to do with root, and won't work if rooted. And the way people update a custom ROM is using a custom recovery, which doesn't care whether the ROM is rooted or even whether it exists.
So what are you trying to update, and how exactly are you trying to update it?
So what are you trying to update, and how exactly are you trying to update it?
Rumpleforeskin
Lurker
Well, when it goes to install the update, then reboot, I get a screen that says teamwin recovery (my phone is a factory refurb) and it looks like windows DOS mode. Says my device isn't rooted and I need to install SuperSU to root it. Only, the same thing came up on my old phone and I installed it...and the phone locked up on the greeting screen. I've been bypassing it this time, but my phone is constantly telling me to install update.
OK, you have a custom recovery installed. "Recovery" is a small, self-contained program that all Android phones contain, and is used for doing operations like factory reset, clearing the cache partition, or installing updates. The standard recovery will only install official updates, so people who modify their phones (rooting, custom ROMs) usually replace this with an unofficial "custom" recovery, and TWRP is the most popular of those. However, a custom recovery will not work for installing an official, over-the-air update, and it sounds like that is the problem.
That wasn't done by any official service center, so I don't know who did it: any official service centre should reflash the phone with clean firmware, so even if a previous owner had installed TWRP that should have been removed if the phone was a factory refurb. So unless you (or someone else) has done that since, there's something dodgy about whoever did the refurbing.
Anyway, if you are trying to install the official update you really want the official recovery. That can be achieved by either completely reflashing the phone (which will also wipe it, so back up first) or, if the bootloader is unlocked, by flashing an official recovery. You need to unlock the bootloader to flash recovery, so the fact that you have a custom recovery suggests it has been unlocked, but it may have been relocked. Since unlocking the bootloader will also wipe the phone you should not do that just to install a recovery.
Either way we're going to need to know more about the phone in order to find the right software. If you know how to use "fastboot" and have it installed on a computer then posting the output of "fastboot getvar all" (apart from the IMEI and phone serial number) will give us everything we need. If not, can you tell us the exact software version you are running (Settings > About, we want the detailed build number rather than just the android version) and all of the software information from the bootloader screen (bootloader/hboot version and baseband version will be helpful), and if you know what country/carrier the phone was originally sold for that will help a lot. I can't guarantee to be able to find the right software, but will try.
The other alternative is just to use TWRP to install a custom ROM. That also requires wiping the phone, but will allow you to update even if we have trouble locating the right software. The information from the top of the bootloader screen will still be helpful here.
Sorry about this mess. Nobody should pass on phones with modified software without ensuring that the recipient knows what this means and is happy with it (and I say this as someone who does modify the software of my own phones).
That wasn't done by any official service center, so I don't know who did it: any official service centre should reflash the phone with clean firmware, so even if a previous owner had installed TWRP that should have been removed if the phone was a factory refurb. So unless you (or someone else) has done that since, there's something dodgy about whoever did the refurbing.
Anyway, if you are trying to install the official update you really want the official recovery. That can be achieved by either completely reflashing the phone (which will also wipe it, so back up first) or, if the bootloader is unlocked, by flashing an official recovery. You need to unlock the bootloader to flash recovery, so the fact that you have a custom recovery suggests it has been unlocked, but it may have been relocked. Since unlocking the bootloader will also wipe the phone you should not do that just to install a recovery.
Either way we're going to need to know more about the phone in order to find the right software. If you know how to use "fastboot" and have it installed on a computer then posting the output of "fastboot getvar all" (apart from the IMEI and phone serial number) will give us everything we need. If not, can you tell us the exact software version you are running (Settings > About, we want the detailed build number rather than just the android version) and all of the software information from the bootloader screen (bootloader/hboot version and baseband version will be helpful), and if you know what country/carrier the phone was originally sold for that will help a lot. I can't guarantee to be able to find the right software, but will try.
The other alternative is just to use TWRP to install a custom ROM. That also requires wiping the phone, but will allow you to update even if we have trouble locating the right software. The information from the top of the bootloader screen will still be helpful here.
Sorry about this mess. Nobody should pass on phones with modified software without ensuring that the recipient knows what this means and is happy with it (and I say this as someone who does modify the software of my own phones).